The South African cricket team announced Wednesday that it would abandon the tri-series limited-overs cricket tournament in Sri Lanka because of security concerns.

The decision was made after the bomb blast on Monday near the team's hotel in Colombo that killed seven people.

"The current risk to the team is at an unacceptable level," said a statement from Cricket South Africa that was read out by coach Micky Arthur. "The safety of our team is paramount and we have no option but to withdraw the team from the tournament."

The South African cricket board said the decision was made after a review of the security situation by the International Cricket Council's independent consultant, the Olive Group.

The former coach of Malaysia's national soccer team, Chow Kwai Lam, was charged with match-fixing Wednesday.

Chow is accused of offering $125 to one of his players to help fix a game in Singapore's S League in 2005, according to his court charge sheet.

He is also accused of offering "a further unspecified amount of cash" to the Paya Lebar Punggol goalkeeper Zulkifli Zainolabidin to allow a few goals by the opposing team, Home United, in a match on June 16, 2005.

Chow, who was released on bail, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $63,400 fine, or both if convicted.

Chow could not immediately be reached for comment, but denied the charge Wednesday in an interview with Malaysia's The Star newspaper.

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Chow coached Kuala Lumpur to win three Malaysia Cup finals in the country's M League from 1987 to 1989.$@(AP)

Baseball

Journalists must testify

A federal judge told two San Francisco Chronicle reporters they must comply with a subpoena and tell a grand jury who leaked them secret testimony from Barry Bonds and other elite athletes ensnared in the government's steroid probe.

The reporters, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, have said they will not testify and will go to jail rather than reveal their sources.

The two reporters published a series of articles and a book based partly on transcripts of testimony by Bonds, Jason Giambi and others who testified in the grand jury investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co- Operative, which was later exposed as a steroid ring.$@(AP)

Basketball

Bobcats forward held

Lonny Baxter, a Charlotte Bobcats forward, was arrested by U.S. Secret Service officers Wednesday after shots were fired from a vehicle about two blocks from the White House.

Baxter was taken into custody around 2:30 a.m. after a witness flagged down a Secret Service officer and reported shots fired from a white sport utility vehicle, said Eric Zahren, a Secret Service spokesman.

Both Baxter, 27, and another man in the vehicle, Irvin Martin, 35, were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearm charges. It was not immediately clear why they were allegedly firing the gun. $@(AP)